ABOUT
Councilmember Natasha Harper-Madison is an original East Austinite. The proud daughter of a traveling bluegrass banjo player who had heard in the 70’s that Austin was a good city for musicians. After settling down on the Eastside, her father quickly realized that Austin didn’t just accept or tolerate his family; Austin embraced them, and there would be no other city they would call home. Natasha inherited her parents’ deep love for Austin and this love has evolved over the years into a passionate and innate drive to make the city a better home for everyone.
Nearly all 22 of Natasha’s family not only reside in or around Austin, but in or around District One. Her ties to the community run deep and her commitment to making Austin more equitable for everyone is unwavering.
Before getting involved with city council, Natasha found success as a small business entrepreneur. She founded and ran EcoChic Floral which specialized in providing sustainable floral design using certified plants and flowers that are locally grown. In 2014, her small business was named the Small Business of the Year by the Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce.
While Natasha found success in launching her own business, her life plans were put on a significant hold after a doctor’s visit ended with a Stage 3B cancer diagnosis. She underwent chemotherapy and cancer treatments and endured a hard-fought battle with the illness.
Natasha’s bout with cancer forced her to look within and consider what she really wanted to do with her life. She had always wanted to live a mission in service of the community and somehow give back to the neighborhoods she was born and raised in. Having never run for office before, Natasha Harper-Madison started walking the neighborhoods she was raised in and canvassed with her family in a grassroots effort to represent District One at City Hall.
She was very grateful for the overwhelming level of support and love from her community as she was elected to City Council in December of 2018.
Natasha immediately got to work once elected. Demonstrating that a path to a more affordable, equitable, and mobile Austin for all is attainable. Accomplishments in her first term include:
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Championing the transformational high-capacity transit investment known as Project Connect, and ensuring that the voter-approved plan included a historic $300-million anti-displacement fund that will preserve and create affordable housing along Austin’s future light rail and enhanced bus lines.
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Bringing equity-focused amendments to our city budget that included:
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$1.37 million for rapid retraining of low-income Austinites
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$750,000 for parks facilities, especially historically underfunded, older East Austin facilities
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$330,000 to expand childcare in East Austin parks
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$400,000 to support formerly incarcerated individuals
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$100,000 to contract with a solutions architect to focus on equity and policing
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$500,000 for four full-time epidemiologists in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Fighting back against period poverty by helping to facilitate a program requiring the Austin Independent School District to provide free menstrual products to students.
Councilmember Harper-Madison’s track record demonstrates that her approach to public policy making is in accordance with the values that east side Austinites embody. She recognizes that Austin is in a severe affordable housing crisis and realizes that more housing is an absolute necessity. Today she remains a fierce advocate working to combine responsible housing growth with fair and accessible mobility measures and improved public transportation that will benefit all of Austin.
